Apr 14 2010
Air Products (NYSE:APD) today introduced two new surfactants for the architectural coatings market that are alkylphenol ethoxylate (APE)-free and specially targeted for zero VOC coating formulations.
Carbowet 13-40 is a VOC- and APE-free alternative to 30-40 mole ethoxylate surfactants for use in waterborne coatings, inks and adhesives. It provides excellent handling properties due to its liquidity. In addition, it offers substrate wetting, pigment wetting and stabilization, and emulsification in a variety of applications and polymer systems.
EnviroGem 2010 is a solvent- and APE-free surfactant that contributes no VOCs to zero VOC coating formulations and provides exceptional handling properties, substrate wetting and pigment wetting in architectural coatings.
"As global trends and regulations move away from coatings with APE-containing ingredients, Air Products is developing APE-free alternatives to help ease our customers' transition to these more environmentally friendly applications," said Solomon Lemma, global business manager, Specialty Additives and Personal Care for Air Products.
Both Carbowet 13-40 and EnviroGem 2010 are environmentally friendly alternatives for APE-containing surfactants and require little to no reformulation by customers while providing the same wetting properties and very low foam.
APEs are increasingly under consumer and regulatory scrutiny because they are persistent in the environment and are suspected of being endocrine disruptors.